Humboldt County supervisors on Tuesday will discuss whether or not to renew a contract they pulled from their agenda earlier this month after local and national groups raised concerns over a federal wildlife management program.

Wildlife Services, a program overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal Plant Health Inspection Services, has worked in the county since the early 20th century to protect residents, agricultural products, natural resources and property from wildlife. Seven local and national conservation groups submitted a letter to the Board of Supervisors in June requesting that the board not renew its contract with Wildlife Services, alleging the program has a history of committing illegal acts, unintentionally trapping and killing endangered and threatened species, and failing to explain its actions to the public.

First District Supervisor and board Chairman Rex Bohn said he brought the contract back for discussion earlier than anticipated as he had received all the information he needed from talking with the community and county Agricultural Commissioner Jeff Dolf. Bohn said Wildlife Services' role in the county is mainly removing raccoons and skunks from property, but that he has also heard from ranchers who say that the service is essential to protect their livestock from predators.

"There is a real need in the county," Bohn said. "I think just like with any organization, there may be some merit to some of the statements that they are making, but I haven't heard about any of it happening locally."

One of the petitioners against the contract, Monte Merrick of Bird Ally X and the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center, stated in a letter to the board that the local Wildlife Services trapper killed a mother raccoon thinking it was a male and that the raccoon's babies, who were in a crawl space under an Arcata home, died of starvation as a result.

Dolf, who will be giving an informational presentation on Wildlife Services on Tuesday, said in a previous interview with the Times-Standard that the trapper told him he did not kill the raccoon mother and tried unsuccessfully to coax the babies out of the crawl space.

Fifth District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg said he grew up with the local trapper and that the federal agency provides a vital service in addressing the problem of rabid animals in the county.

"I think that it's terrible that they're trying to smear his name over this," he said. "He's a great guy, he cares about the environment, cares about animals and doesn't kill them unless he has to. There may be problems with Wildlife Services in other parts of the country, but in Humboldt County, we need someone that is going take care of the rabid foxes and skunks."

Third District Supervisor Mark Lovelace said he has used the service in the past, but that the board should consider the environmental impacts of some of the alleged practices.

"I know lots of other people that relied upon it," he said. "I don't think it's a question of whether or not we need the type of service, it's whether or not this agency is the appropriate entity to do that."

Wildlife Services killed about 4.3 million animals nationwide in 2013, of which 2.3 million were invasive species. Another 18 million animals were dispersed alive, according to a Wildlife Services report.

If approved, the contract would be renewed for four years with the county paying about $67,000 annually as part of a cost-share agreement with the agency.

County tax measure

The board is also set to approve placing a countywide half-percent general tax measure on the November ballot that would fund public safety services such as the sheriff's office, Probation Department, district attorney's office and fire services. After two discussions of the tax measure, several public safety heads urged the board to increase the tax rate or asked that they be placed on the table to help decide how the funds will be allocated.

The idea for the tax measure resulted from community concerns over the lack of law enforcement presence in areas of the county, Sundberg said.

"Right now at night time, there are three cars with two sheriffs deputies in each: one car for the north and one in the south and one in the middle of the county," Sundberg said. "From everything that I know and my pulse of the community, people are willing to tax themselves if they know where the money is going to go."

Several fire chiefs attended the board's July 15 meeting to voice their concern that they would be left out of receiving funding from the tax measures, as had happened in the past with state Proposition 172.

Humboldt Bay Fire District Chief Ken Woods said he and the other local chiefs feel that a 20 percent allocation of the total funding would be fair.

"We will actively oppose this measure if the fire service does not gets its fair share of this," Woods told the board. "It's time now for some stepping up on our elected officials' part in addressing that."

As to that concern, Fennell told the Times-Standard that she understands their position, but the board cannot promise percentages due to it being a general sales tax. The board is discussing creating an advisory committee that would help decide how the money will be split up, but only if the tax measure is approved.

"I know they're nervous that they haven't been included as much as they have in the past," Fennell said. "First we've got to get the pie before we decide how to slice it."

If approved by voters, the sales tax would generate about $6 million annually. In order to make the ballot, the measure must have at least four approving votes from the board.

Possible plastic bag ban

Earlier in the meeting, the board will discuss options for a possible ban of single-use plastic bags in unincorporated areas. According to the staff report, the board has two options, the first being a model ordinance adopted by the city of Arcata that would ban all single-use carry out plastic bags except for those for produce, bulk food, meat or by a pharmacy for prescription medication. The other option is to develop a local ordinance that would correlate with proposed state legislation, Senate Bill 270, which would create a statewide policy on single-use bags.

"SB 270 proposes to prohibit specified grocery stores and pharmacies from distributing single-use plastic bags beginning July 1, 2015," the staff report states. "Starting July 1, 2016, the bill would also prohibit convenience and liquor stores from making available single-use plastic bags. Additionally, the bill would prohibit stores from selling or distributing recycled paper bags for less than 10 cents."